Rigid foam building component

ABSTRACT

A rigid foam building component includes a rigid foam body with at least one reinforcing stud insert. The rigid foam body has a first planar portion, which intersects a second planar portion. The reinforcing stud insert has a first side, a second side and a connecting web connecting the first side and the second side. The connecting web consists of at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions. The reinforcing stud insert is positioned at an intersection between the first planar portion and the second planar portion, with a first of the at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions reinforcing the first planar portion and a second of the at least two conjoined intersection planar portions reinforcing the second planar portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a rigid foam building component for use in a building system that utilizes panels made from rigid foam, which are reinforced by studs inserts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following patents disclose the use of rigid foam with reinforcing stud inserts: U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,634 (Nemmer et al from 1987), U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,198 (Bader from 1998) and CA 2,363,216 (Ritchie from 2001). The systems disclosed use parallel-piped panels, which are only suitable for making box-like structures. They are not capable of being adapted to suit more demanding applications, in which architectural plans call for walls with angles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is required is a rigid foam building component for use with a building system using rigid foam panels, which is sufficiently versatile to be adapted for use in constructing architecturally designed structures having walls with angles.

According to the present invention there is provided a rigid foam building component which includes a rigid foam body with at least one reinforcing stud insert. The rigid foam body has a first planar portion which intersects a second planar portion. The reinforcing stud insert has a first side, a second side and a connecting web connecting the first side and the second side. The connecting web consists of at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions. The reinforcing stud insert is positioned at an intersection between the first planar portion and the second planar portion, with a first of the at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions reinforcing the first planar portion and a second of the at least two conjoined intersection planar portions reinforcing the second planar portion.

The rigid foam building components, as described above, enable unique building structures to be made, as the rigid foam building components can be made in unique shapes and still be connected to other components in the building system due to the unique shape and positioning of the reinforcing stud inserts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a wall constructed using rigid foam building panels fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the wall illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, in section, of the wall illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view, in section, of an elongate rigid foam member fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for use in joining rigid foam building panels.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view, in section, of an elongate rigid foam member fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for use in joining rigid foam building panels.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view, in section, of an elongate rigid foam member fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for use in joining rigid foam building panels.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view, in section, of an elongate rigid foam member fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for use in joining rigid foam building panels.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view, in section, of an elongate rigid foam member fabricated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention for use in joining rigid foam building panels.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

FIG. 14 is a top plan view, in section, of a portion of an elongate rigid foam member with a reinforcing stud insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment, a rigid foam building component generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 14.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a wall 100 formed of rigid foam building components 10. Rigid foam building components 10 include a rigid foam body 12 with a reinforcing stud insert 14, although more reinforcing stud inserts 14 may be present, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 through 8. Referring now to FIGS. 9 through 14, rigid foam body 12 has a first planar portion 16 which intersects a second planar portion 18. Reinforcing stud insert 14 has a first side 20, a second side 22 and a connecting web 24 connecting first side 20 and second side 22. Connecting web 24 consisting of at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions 26. Reinforcing stud insert 14 is positioned at an intersection between first planar portion 16 and second planar portion 18 with a first of the at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions 26 reinforcing first planar portion 16 and a second of the at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions 26 reinforcing second planar portion 18. Referring to FIGS. 4 through 8, rigid foam body 12 may be an elongate member 11, which in cross-section is an irregular polygon of a variety of shapes. Referring to FIG. 1, rigid foam body 12 may also be an angled panel 13 having a bend 30, and reinforcing stud insert 14 is positioned on the inside 32 of bend 30, or the outside 34 of bend 30. It may be desirable to also have reinforcing stud insert 14 positioned on both the inside and outside of bend 30. This allows interior and exterior finishing material to be installed. Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 14, intersecting planar portions 26 are not necessarily parallel, which allows reinforcing stud insert 14 to connect panels which are positioned at a number of different angles. Referring now to FIG. 3, an “L” shaped top channel 40 or an “L” shaped bottom channel 42 may be used to mount angled panel 13. Referring again to FIG. 1, rigid foam bodies 12 are connected with rectangular rigid foam panels 36 strengthened by c-shaped stud inserts 38 to form straight sections of wall 100. The connections between sections are made by using spline connectors 50. Referring to FIG. 2, in the illustrated embodiment, angled panels 13 are combined with rectangular rigid foam panels 36 so that wall 100 forms a bay window, with a window 44. Referring to FIG. 3, angled panels 13 have channels 48 adapted to accept spline 50 connectors.

Referring to FIGS. 4 through 8, rigid foam body 12 may be adapted with protrusions 46 which can be inserted into channels 48 in angled panels 13 or rectangular rigid foam panels 36. There may also be provided connectors 47 in some instances, as shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8, that are able to be connected to walls that may be uninsulated, such as wood or metal walls. For example, connector 47 may be used to connect to a patio wall outside the building, or an interior wall that divides a room, where insulation is not required.

Operation:

The use of rigid foam building components 10 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 14. A design is chosen for a given structure, and construction plans are made. To construct each wall 100 within the designed structure, appropriate types of foam bodies 12 in the form of elongate members, angled panels 13 and rectangular rigid foam panels 36 are chosen. Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated how angled panels 13 can be combined with rectangular rigid foam panels 36 to create a desired structure for wall 100. The positioning of uniquely shaped reinforcing stud inserts 14 within angled panels 13, provides backing into which fasteners may be secured when covering angled panels 13 with interior or exterior sheeting. Angled panels 13 are connected to rectangular rigid foam panels 36 through the use of spline connectors 50 which fit in channels 48. Referring to FIG. 3, angled panels 13 of the newly formed wall 100 are mounted using “L” shaped top channels 40 or “L” shaped bottom channels 42. “L” shaped channels 40 and 42 are preferable to the commonly used “C” shaped bracket as, as “L” shaped channels 40 and 42 can be formed to the shape of the wall more easily, whatever the shap may be. If a corner is required, the horizontal portion of channel 40 or 42 may be cut to allow it to be bent to the required shape.

Referring to FIGS. 4 through 14, examples are provided of elongate members 11, which can be used to connect angled panels 13 or rectangular rigid foam panels 36 at various angles. The elongate members illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 8, have protrusions 46 which are inserted into channels 48 of either angled panel 13 or rectangular rigid foam panel 36. One need only select an elongate member with appropriate angles from the ones illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 8. Once the connection has been made intersecting planar portions 26 of stud inserts 14 provides backing to which fasteners may be driven when installing interior or exterior sheeting. The elongate members illustrated in FIGS. 9 through 14, show portions of foam bodies 12 that show a variety of angles and shapes that may be used in constructing wall 100. Reinforcing stud insert 14 provides an adequate attachment surface for interior finishing materials such as drywall. One need only select an elongate member with appropriate angles from the ones illustrated in FIGS. 9 through 14.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined in the claims. 

1. A rigid foam building component, comprising: a rigid foam body with at least one reinforcing stud insert, the rigid foam body having a first planar portion which intersects a second planar portion, the reinforcing stud insert having a first side, a second side and a connecting web connecting the first side and the second side, the connecting web consisting of at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions, the reinforcing stud insert being positioned at an intersection between the first planar portion and the second planar portion with a first of the at least two conjoined intersecting planar portions reinforcing the first planar portion and a second of the at least two conjoined intersection planar portions reinforcing the second planar portion.
 2. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 1, wherein the rigid foam body is an elongate member.
 3. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 2, wherein the elongate member, when viewed in cross-section, is an irregular polygon.
 4. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 1, wherein the rigid foam body is a panel having a bend, the at least one reinforcing stud insert being positioned on one of the inside of the bend or the outside of the bend.
 5. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 1, wherein the first side and the second side of the at least one reinforcing stud insert are non-parallel.
 6. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 4, wherein an “L” shaped top channel is used to mount the panel.
 7. The rigid foam building component as defined in claim 4, wherein an “L” shaped bottom channel is used to mount the panel. 